National Insurance Number

So I was working for a company as an employee in the UK under my student visa from August 2020 to February 2021.  The company couldn't get me a Tier 2 visa so I ended the work and now I'm going back to the US since my visa is ending.

I received a letter from HM Revenue Customs asking me for info (PAYE/Self assessment). They are asking for name, dob, Employer PAYE reference, etc which I have, but also asking me for a National Insurance Number which I don't have (yet?).  They say to fill out a different form to get a number.

I assume I should do this (get a National Insurance Number) and return the info, correct?  The only reason I was questioning this is that I'm leaving for the US soon. Now I may be back in the future and of course, I don't want to spoil a UK opportunity in the future.  I assume that I might get taxes back or have to pay extra?

Thanks!

Yes. Apply for your NINO. The employer likely had you on emergency tax which means you will have paid more tax than you should have! Hmrc still like sending out cheques - so get it done before you leave!

Check your pay slips to see what your tax code was and to see how much tax you paid. Can’t remember exactly, but your tax code should have been something like 1250L if you didn’t have benefit in kind like a company car, medical benefits... if it was a lower number or had ‘br’ in the code, you’re probably owed a tax refund.

I’m a bit surprised it’s taken this long for it to be caught!!


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Thank you. Yes it’s 1250L. The tricky part here is that I’m going back to the US very soon.

Hmm I don’t understand how your employer paid your tax then if you weren’t on the emergency rate...

Is there a nino on your payslips at all? It’s formatted two letters, 6 numbers and then a letter: AA 00 00 00 A (for example.


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Looks like you've left it too late to get a NI number (should have been done at/before the time you started working) but you will still be able to register for self assessment (even from the US) which will generate a UTR which should be enough to file your taxes with.

https://www.gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment/not-self-employed

Actually, there is no interview right now because of Covid so you could still try to apply. Even though your visa will have expired, you can explain the situation and see if they will grant you one. Don't know if they would go for that though so you may just need to stick with the UTR.

.After you apply, it can take up to 16 weeks to get your National Insurance number. You will not need to have a face-to-face interview at the moment because of coronavirus (COVID-19).

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

I can confirm what larrabee says about not needing a NI number when doing a self assessment. Although there is a place on the SA form to put a NINO it is not mandatory, unlike the UTR number.

Your employer may well have applied for a NINO for you when you started work and if it is not on your old payslips you could look for it here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/national-insurance-numbers

It gets tricky though - in order to set you up on SA, the system requires an input NINO. I honestly don’t know how it would work if you don’t have one. I’m sure you’re not the only person ever to be in this position though. You could try giving the friendly SA helpline a call?

SA requires a name, address, dob and NINO in order to set up your account. Which is crazy considering you don’t have to be a UK national to set up a business here (which would also require SA).

0300 200 3310. They’re open M-F 8am-6pm. I recommend calling in the morning to avoid sometimes lengthy wait times.


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Just had a thought, unless you submit a voluntary return and don’t get a notice to file issued, which would circumvent HMRC having to set up the account (which needs a Nino) for you. Basically you just send in an unsolicited tax return (I promise they aren’t anywhere near as bad as US tax returns!).


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